


Devour the World

by afamiliardog



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:42:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4051942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afamiliardog/pseuds/afamiliardog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cosette intends to learn all there is to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Devour the World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [genarti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/genarti/gifts).



> This was written for one of genarti's prompts, who wanted some Cosette character study. I chose to focus on what Cosette would enjoy post-marriage. Thanks for the lovely prompt!

The sun was already high in the sky when Madame la Baronne Pontmercy bade farewell to her companions, separating from the group as she turned right down the street towards the market.  Most of them had already done their own shopping before arriving at her home for companionship, and therefore turned left for their own homes.  Cosette did not mind the conversation and laughter fading behind her, having gotten her fill in the last few hours of the day as the group of women sat together to talk, most knitting or organizing the household expenses in long ink columns of numbers. These were activities that were always more enjoyable in the company of others, and she treasured these mornings, listening to birdsong stream in through the windows from the garden as it mingled with the voices of her friends. It felt to her that the comfort of the morning itself was blanketed around her.

It had become surprisingly easy to make friends once married, and as simple as growing to know the wives of Marius’s acquaintances. In fact, she found herself firmer friends with more women than Marius was with their husbands. She delighted in the gossip, the shared recipes, and the childhood tales, and was mostly content to listen over speaking in the group setting. Her additions to the conversation were a little less modern—she knew little of the theatre, but much of botany and the identification of birds—but all generally enjoyed her company, as she listened avidly and asked many questions, which flattered them; and she enjoyed theirs, for they filled her mind with more to consider each day.

But after a few hours, when the other women had to leave to shop or tend to their children or meet their husbands, Cosette was glad for the time to herself, enjoying the sun on her face as she carried her basket into the market. There was a quiet, simple pleasure in _being_ , and despite its apparent simplicity, it was not one she had always been able to have. The pain and fear in her life had been gone for years along with her young childhood, and with the joining of her heart and Marius’s, her loneliness had faded, too.

Still, she was frequently drawn into the joys of other people’s lives. As she reached the market, she found Esme where she always was, beside her little cart selling apples. Having always been hard of hearing, her eyes tracked the streets back and forth, keeping a good awareness of her surroundings for would-be thieves.

Esme watched Cosette’s approach warily, squinting until she recognized her and broke out into a grin. _Good morning_ , she signed, and said it aloud for Cosette’s benefit as well.

 _Good morning_ , Cosette signed, fingers working deftly as birds. That phrase was easy, one learned weeks ago.  This next, a little harder. _I give to your little child_. Signs finished, she reached into her basket and pulled out the morning’s knit project, a butter-yellow cap all finished. She hesitated. _Face warm_ , she signed, then reached out with a hand and tugged on her ear lobe, lifting her eyebrows in silent question.   

 _Ears_ , signed Esme. _Her ears will keep warm. Yes, thank you. You have a good heart._

Cosette smiled. _How is your man?_ She had no word for husband yet.

By the time she went home, her basket and heart felt much fuller, and Marius was home. “Good day, Madame Pontmercy,” he said, rising to kiss her cheek. “And how was your walk?”

“It was wonderful, though it may have been moreso if I did not have to carry so many apples back,” sighed Cosette. “My arm is likely to fall off if this pace keeps up. Unfortunately, my husband eats like a horse, and I must keep him well fed.”

“That does sound terrible,” said Marius gravely, reaching into the basket to pull out an apple. “He must be a fellow who keeps dreadful cooks, if he must refer constantly to apples for sustenance.”

Cosette, whose last culinary escapade had ended in disaster, said nothing, but her mouth quirked upwards a little, betraying the smile already shining in her eyes. It was true that they had not hired on any servants, nor maids yet—but what was the harm in that? She could make some soups with little difficulty, and would learn to make meat pies as well, eventually. And whatever else she wanted! “He is perhaps being subjected to more experiments than he strictly deserves,” she allowed. “I suppose that if we did hire someone on who could cook, they would be able to teach me what they know…”

Marius made a noncommittal noise that Cosette immediately recognized as hastily squashed hope.

“Esme taught me more signs today,” she said instead, changing the subject. “I recognize many of the ones she uses most frequently. And I stood by for a while as she sold apples so she could give me some of the language commonly used in the market, and told me about her husband—he’s still ill, poor man; I told her I’d be sending the physician for him, so we must go over to him today to let him know their address. It’s wonderful to be learning that way of speaking, and she is a good and gracious woman who never seems to get impatient with me, though I’m sure she has reason to, and often.”

Cosette’s smile faltered a little. What she wouldn’t have given, a long time ago, to be able to speak without talking, and have people understand her, or want to hear her! It was strange that now it was not so much the speaking she found so important, but the being able to listen, and hear someone else. “One of these days, you will teach me German,” she said firmly.

Marius burst out laughing, and swept Cosette up in his arms to kiss her resolutely on the nose. “I adore you,” he told her seriously, “and I certainly shall. I’m sure by the time I teach you all I know, your mastery will far exceed mine. Though perhaps you would like to conquer one of your other passions first? The gougère, perhaps?” he said helpfully. “Or the waltz?”

Cosette took Marius’s offered hand, squeezing it lightly. “I shall master them all, make no mistake.”


End file.
